The Codeless Code: Case 16-17 Documentation（文件）、Not Invented By me（不是自己开发的东西）

The Codeless Code: Case 16 Documentation

An abbot of the Seven-Clawed Blind Eagle Clan was tallying the deliverables of the temple monks, when he noticed that a monk of the Laughing Monkey Clan had produced no design documents.

七爪盲鹰城的牧师忽然注意到，笑猴城开发了一个没有经过设计包装过的文档，于是，他开始清查在他的城里有能力进行开发的僧侣还有多少。

“What if a problem were discovered in our production system?” the abbot asked the monk. “How would the cause be understood by any besides yourself?”

“如果在我们所开发的系统里面发现了一个bug”，牧师问跟随他的僧侣们，“如何让除了我们之外的人都能够发现并能够解决我们所开发的系统中的这个bug呢？”

“The code itself should be examined,” said the monk. “The Document is a sickly beast, easily subject to the Three Plagues of Error: omission, obfuscation, and obsolescence.”

“需要将源代码本身给检查一遍”，一个僧侣答道，“文件本身就是一个多病的野兽，很容易存在下面三种瘟疫式的报错：疏忽、混淆和遗漏。”

The abbot reported this to the Java master, who said: “Have the monk balance on one foot with his staff outstretched, every day from dusk to midnight. If he can say a word to please me I will revoke the punishment, but not otherwise.”

于是，七爪盲鹰城的牧师就把这个问题讨论的结果，报给了总教的Java大师。大师说：“让那个说这句话的僧侣给我单脚站立，从黄昏站到午夜，中间不许停下来。如果他可以说出一句令我高兴的话，我就改变注意，不惩罚他了，否则的话，就一直站着吧!”

“Is there such a word?” asked the abbot.

“能令您高兴的话，存在吗？”,牧师为难的问道。

“It is difficult to be certain,” reflected the master. “Yesterday I was pleased by the sound of a cricket chirping after the first three drops of rain. The day before, the plashing of milk in a pail returned me to a pleasant memory of my youth. Perhaps the answer lies in the fragrance of a white lotus that drifted once in the pond below my window.”

“这很难说”，大师回答他，“昨天，我第一次被三场雨之后，蟋蟀鸣叫的声音给弄的很高兴。那天之前，牛奶桶里稀里哗啦的声音让我记起了年轻时候的美好回忆。也许答案就在我窗前那片飘过一次白莲清香的荷塘里。”（读者注：当把系统开发中出错的问题，笼统的归类于某个方面，而且，按着既定思路去解决新出现的问题，本身就不是就事论事的去分析，而是，一种希冀撞运来碰巧的把bug给找出来，是靠不住的。大师让持这种观点的僧侣遭受惩罚，就是让他明白，一切皆有因果，溯果求因是解决问题的办法，而用既定的思路去套，是行不通的。）

The Codeless Code: Case 16 Not Invented By me

A monk of the Elephant's Footprint Clan had been charged with eliminating the reams of redundant code created by that clan. He approached the clan’s head priest for guidance.

在象足城修行的一个僧侣以删除了本城中所编写的冗杂代码而被控告。他被押到城中大祭司那，接受审判。

“Here, for example, are five schemes for managing user preferences,” said the monk, spreading the printouts on the table. “I must either pick the superior one or implement some compromise. Either way at least four modules will be tossed into the fire, and their authors ordered to consume the code of a rival.”

“比如，这里有五个文档用于管理用户的偏好”，这个僧侣边说边把打印好的文件给摊到桌子上，“我要么选择更好的，要么做出妥协。不管怎样，至少有四个会被扔进火里，它们的开发者会被命令去按竞争对手的代码的模式去设计。”

“Then you are doomed,” said the priest. “Once the cat wets her paw to rake a carp from the pool, she will not trade the belly for ten thousand mice.”

“要是这样的话，你就死定了”，祭司说到，“一旦猫沾湿利爪开始从水里捉鱼，就不会再想去用老鼠填饱肚子。”

The monk wiped a hand across his brow. “And this is but one of a dozen redundant subsystems I must consolidate! Today I saw one of the senior brothers sharpening his throwing-knives. Is there no way that the monks of our clan might be mollified?”

僧侣用手擦了擦头（很紧张，有点胆怯），“这也只是我必须把那么多冗余子系统进行合并的原因中的一个!今天我看见一个师兄在磨刀，难道我犯的这个错误，就不能处罚的轻一些吗？”

The priest held up his left hand, which was missing the smallest finger. “If the cat cannot have the carp, a bit of the carp-thief will suffice.”

祭祀举起了他的左手给大家看，大家忽然发现他左手的小拇指早就没了。祭祀说道，“如果猫抓不到鱼，它不是会回头好好捉老鼠了，而是会去准备偷鱼。”（读者注：对于不是自己开发的东西，一旦获益，就像偷了腥的猫，再也不想凭自己的力量去开发了）